Tricks and Treats
by justwaitingontheworldtochange
Summary: Rick and Kate and their first Halloween.


A/N: Happy Halloween month!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle**

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"Castle, for the last time, we are not wearing matching costumes."

"Why not?" he whines, pulling his socks off and tossing them into her laundry hamper,"We could be Mickey and Minnie."

She turns towards him, shirt half-unbuttoned, slack-jawed.

"I am not wearing a costume that weighs a hundred pounds."

"I never said you'd have to." he stands and holds her hair up as she shrugs her shirt off,"Slutty Minnie costumes are extremely popular."

"You will never grow up, will you?" she mutters, digging for a shirt in her drawer.

He almost jumps in excitement. In fact, he's pretty sure he did jump.

_He had such a good idea_

"Beckett, I could be Peter Pan and you could be Tinkerbell!"

"Castle, don't make me get my gun."

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"Okay," he says as he hands her coffee on their way to a crime scene,"What do you want to be for Halloween?"

She shrugs her shoulders and takes a sip of her drink. Castle watches her reaction and is pleased by the result.

"Rick, what is this?" she asks, her eyes closed, as if savoring the taste. He knew she would like it, he can only hope it sways her to his side of the "matching costumes" argument.

"It's Pumpkin Spice Latte." he replies proudly, his chest puffing out involuntarily,"Isn't it good?"

"It's amazing." she leans up and kisses his cheek,"Thank you."

She lingers and he can't help but stroke her cheek with the backs of his fingers.

When Beckett drops back on her heels and resumes walking, he can't help but suggest,

"You can be a princess and I'll be a knight."

"Dead bodies, Castle,"she says,"Focus."

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"Slutty nurse?"

"No."

"Slutty Viking maiden."

"No." she crosses her legs and glares up at him from her magazine.

"Slutty anything?"

"No."

He sighs dramatically and rubs his forehead.

"C'mon, Kate, give me something."

"Don't be so dramatic."

"All of our friends are going to be there," he says, dropping his head onto her shoulder,"Don't embarrass me."

"That's exactly it, how much money do you want to bet they'll find out about us?"

"They already know." he breaths in deeply and throws an arm over her torso,"They're not going to tell Gates."

"_You invited Gates_." she says incredulously, slapping him with her trashy gossip magazine.

"Catwoman?" he asks hopefully, looking up at her as she walks to the bedroom,"I'll be your Batman."

"Conversation over, Rick." she calls over her shoulder.

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"Do you want to be Hermione?" he asks her, a serious look on his face as she helps him with his tie.

"Why would you ask that?" she wonders out loud, smiling.

"Because Alexis always wanted to be Hermione." he frowns, confused"Doesn't every girl want to be her?"

Beckett just shake her head in amusement.

"And who will you be, Castle, Ron Weasley?"

"Yeah."

She scoffs and smooths his collar.

"Nah, you're right. I mean, it took them seven years to figure their shit out." he offers, pulling her in for a kiss,"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"One hundred percent sure." she answers, rubbing her nose against his,"Alexis and I will be fine here. She brought DVD's."

"You should come anyways." he says, letting his hands wander below her hips to cup her ass.

"I'll only get in the way." she replies, her breath fanning out against his cheek.

"You're never in my way."

"Well, no. I meant in the way of the thousands of fan girls who will undoubtedly be there."

"Scully." he says, hauling her against him and taking advantage of her momentary breathlessness."I'll be Mulder."

She laughs and takes a step back and he immediately misses the contact.

"Go, Rick. Your daughter and I will be just fine."

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He comes home to a too quiet loft.

Rick drops his coat on the floor and heads straight for the living room.

"Everything okay in here?"

Alexis is sprawled on the couch, fast asleep and Kate is sitting by his daughter's feet, knees drawn up to her chest, her eyes impossibly shiny.

"Yeah." she says, clearing her throat.

He holds his arms out and she rises to step into them. She's wearing a long-sleeved NYPD shirt and pajamas patterned with little broomsticks. He likes Kate like this, he decides.

"You smell like books." she comments, sniffing.

"Kate," he pulls away for a moment to look at her face,"Are you crying?"

"A little bit." she wipes her nose on her sleeve,"Okay, maybe more than a little bit."

"What, did you guys watch the Notebook?" he laughs and she hits him.

"Among other things."

"And it made you cry?"

"No."

The single syllable sounds suspiciously like a sob to his ears. Rick kisses her nose and cups her chin, watching her eyes for any more unshed tears.

"Then what?"

Just then, a phone rings, blaring a catchy tune about a payphone and fairytales, Alexis stirs and promptly brings her hand down on the 'End Call' button. He watches her stretch her arms over her head, a habit she picked up from him, and rub her eyes with the backs of her fist before opening them.

"Is it over yet, Kate?" his daughter groans, propping herself up against the couch.

"Yeah." his girlfriend replies, taking a step back as he moves towards Alexis.

"I told you it turns out good." the girl yawns as Castle kisses the top of her head,"Hey, Dad. Mind if I crash here?"

"Your street slang is improving at a rapid rate." he tells her, ruffling her hair."Sure, pumpkin, go up to your room."

Alexis kisses his cheek before stepping around him and hugging Kate, who murmurs something Castle couldn't quite catch.

"It's a Disney film, Kate." Alexis says on a laugh,"Of course it was going to have a happy ending. Goodnight."

Castle's curiosity doubles when Kate lets him carry her to bed.

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He wakes to the image of her looking at him.

"You're thinking too loud, Kate."

She smiles and presses a kiss against his nose.

"We watched Wall-e and I cried because he just wanted to hold her hand."

Castle vaguely remembers seeing that movie with Alexis a while ago.

"Is that the one about the rusty robot?" he asks stupidly, blinking up at her.

"And the shiny white one."

"And the people in space because of all the garbage?"

"Yeah." she says quietly.

"You gotta admire that guy's perseverance." he yawns.

"That's all he ever wanted." she looks like she's on the verge of tears and he has to hold back a laugh because this is ridiculous."He just wanted to hold someone's hand and she keeps rejecting him."

He pulls her down so that her head falls on his chest.

"Do you want to be the shiny white robot for Halloween, Kate?"

He knows he's got her when she doesn't reply.

"I'll be Wall-e." he offers.

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"I like your costume, Castle." Lanie comments as he takes her coat. He looks down at his rust-colored pants, his brown vest and adjusts the goggles on top of his head.

"Why, thank you, Dr. Parrish." he whistles appreciatively when he catches sight of her witch attire."Yours isn't bad either."

"Thank you." she smiles,"Where's Kate?"

"In the kitchen." he calls after her as he closes the door and she gets lost in the crowd.

Castle hears the ME squeal when she finds Kate and he is giddy at the thought that someone realized their costumes match.

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Later, when Gates is turned away, deep in conversation with one of Black Pawn's executives, Rick reaches for Kate's hand.

He looks at her short white dress and her elbow-length gloves and her pupils, dark behind the mask that covers the area around her eyes. He realizes in that moment, how lucky he is. How lucky they are to have each other.

She lets him hold it.

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A/N: I legit cried while watching Wall-e a couple of years ago, so it's not impossible for a grown woman to do something of the sort. Thanks for reading:)

Reviews are almost as good as candy!


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